London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Families of the Germanwings crash victims may have to wait up to four months for their remains to be identified.

Capital live - the best news and pictures from London

Welcome to the Standard's daily blog - a Londoner's live guide to the breaking stories in our city, important travel updates and the best of the capital's culture and parties from our award-winning team of critics and diarists. Email your news and pictures to blog@standard.co.uk.

London's headlines

● Key Commons vote on 1% benefits cap.

● Bowie releases surprise birthday single Where Are We Now?

● Lampard linked with Manchester United move.

● Second day of men's fashion week, with shows from Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 9:39:40 AM

3rd & 7 37yd

3rd & 7 37yd

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Bowie single

The man of the morning, David Bowie, who surprised us this morning by release a special birthday single, his first in more than a decade.

It seems to be going down well so far. Alastair Campbell tweets:

David Bowie showing it's possible to be 66 and young. Great song.

And Jonathan Ross tweets:

He'll yeah! Welcome back David! DavidBowie!!!!!

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 9:34:10 AM

Lampard move

An intriguing article in the Telegraph this morning has got the football whispers going. Are Chelsea going to surrender their favourite son Frank Lampard to their rivals Manchester United?

The Telegraph reports:

Although Ferguson rejected the chance to sign Lampard last January after being sounded out about the possibility of taking the 34 year-old to Old Trafford, the prospect of signing him on a free transfer at the end of this season has prompted the United manager to identify the England international as a potential target to bolster his midfield options.

The article goes on to say:

It is understood that the prospect of playing for United would greatly appeal to Lampard. The move was ruled out by Ferguson 12 months ago due to the costs involved of paying a fee to Chelsea and also matching Lampard’s £150,000-a-week wages. The Scot had also already persuaded Paul Scholes to come out of retirement by the time the Lampard proposal was put to United.

So could it happen? We will bring you updates - and Chelsea fan anger - throughout the day.

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 9:56:02 AM

Bowie single

Our music critic David Smyth has reviewed Bowie's surprise single. He calls it "gentle, elegiac and stunningly beautiful." The review is here. David writes:

While in the mid-Nineties he was attempting to stay relevant with experiments in drum 'n' bass and electronica. Today he seems more comfortable looking back. Lyrically he refers to his time in Berlin in the late Seventies, which resulted in the albums Low, "Heroes" and Lodger. "Had to get the train from Potzdamer Platz," he sings slowly and mournfully.

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 10:00:32 AM

Men's fashion week

The second day of men's fashion week kicked off this morning with the Burberry Breakfast Party in Knightsbridge. Tinie Tempah was there, and so was Harry Treadaway.

The first catwalk show of the morning is Margaret Howell's in twenty minutes.

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 10:08:17 AM

Bowie single

A reader @BenSCR has just tweeted us:

Great to hear a new David Bowie song, and also a brilliant new video to go with it. Happy Birthday David Robert Jones!!!

by Joshi Herrmann1/8/2013 10:22:00 AM

Benefits vote

This evening the Commons will vote on the government's move to break the link between benefits and inflation, and instead increase them by just 1% a year, resulting in a 'real terms' cut.

Labour, and one or two Lib Dems, are opposing the measure, which commands public support.

The vote will probably take place at about 7pm, and Westminster types are counting down...

The Spectator's Isabel Hardman tweets:

I don't mean to be churlish, but why, if Labour annoyed by strivers/shirkers dichotomy, does it call welfare uprating bill 'strivers tax'?

If Abramovich has given up on signing Pep Guardiola, as our sports pages claim today, then where might he end up?

Simon Johnson says Guardiola's priority is a Premier League Club and that Chelsea have given up home of getting him.

Many in the game assume Mourinho will be Alex Ferguson's successor at Old Trafford, particularly because the two men are friends.

Arsenal's recent revival probably means that Wenger will decide his own departure date at Arsenal, and there are no signals that he means to leave soon.

If anyone will benefit from Guardiola's decision not to work in West London, it may be Manchester City, whose boss Mancini displeased the owners by falling out of the Champions League and whose poor relations with Mario Ballotelli have given the club an unsettled atmosphere again.

We asked our followers for their opinions on the new Bowie single , and here's what they said. It's not looking good...

Richard Evans ‏@richarevans1Dire. Absolutely dire. I thought it was a spoof

hughes ‏@thehughesladyrubbish

Mudhar She Wrote ‏@moreblue1everyone's biggin it up cos he's a brand name to be reckoned with.song itself is rubbish, ppl r jus massaging his ego

StrategicMan ‏@AmericanStrat76clip sounded dodgy - is this yet another ageing former singer singing beyond the sell-by date of their vocal chords?

But thank goodness for rsidney. A bit of positivity people, please.

rsidney ‏@rdotsidneymarvellous

by Gareth Vipers1/8/2013 1:13:05 PM

VALENTINE'S DAY

If you're after some more distraction from the afternoon's work-related inanities, now's the time to start thinking about booking a table for February 14. It might seem a little early, but you don't want to be scrambling around the week before only to find that everywhere is full. "Sorry, darling, Nando's it is..."

... we will also be bringing you our guide to the best London eats for singletons on Valentine's Day (tomorrow), and a handy guide on alternative Valentine's Day activities (Thursday). As ever, there's lots of reviews, listings and guides on our wonderfully revamped Going Out section.

by Gareth Vipers1/8/2013 1:35:09 PM

TRAVEL UPDATE

TfL are reporting MINOR DELAYS on the DISTRICT LINE, due to a signal failure at Hornchurch.

Tonight sees east London favourites the Rooftop Film Club takeover the Kensington Roof Gardens as part of their January season. Screenings include Breakfast at Tiffany's, Drive, Top Gun and The Artist. Continues all week.

Anyone with information should call the incident room on 020 8345 3982 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

by Gareth Vipers1/8/2013 4:18:19 PM

GOING OUT

Stomach grumbling as the clock slowly clicks toward that 5.30pm holy grail? Get out and about in January with ES Going Out - today we bring you London's top chefs favourite restaurants (and no, they weren't allowed to vote for their own).

On ES Going Out you can also book a table for most of the restaurants mentioned, and find reviews and directions so you can head out straight from the office.

by Gareth Vipers1/8/2013 4:43:33 PM

Well, I hope that's left you suitably satisfied London. We'll be back tomorrow morning with the usual mix of breaking news, live travel updates, going out tips, funny pictures, and general web-based distraction. Have a great evening.